Jim Upp displays his late wife’s paintings at an arts fair at Greenspring, a retirement community in Springfield. Upp downsized from a large home to an independent living facility after his wife died. "I did not know a soul when I came here, but I know hundreds of people now. There are more than 200 activities here," he said.

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When Jim Upp’s wife Jeannie died in 2006, the Fairfax senior citizen found himself surrounded by a lifetime of memories in the spacious home where the couple had raised three children. “We lived on a one-acre lot with plenty of trees all by ourselves,” said Upp. “I was alone, and there was a large house and an acre of land to take care of. It took me about five days to realize that wasn’t where it wanted to spend the rest of my life.”